The present apparatus is directed towards an apparatus for the locking of chassis type containers with a lock pin which is moveable in a sleeve through the action of a handle so that it is cammed by the handle into a locked and released position.
Front end locking devices have been known previous to the prior invention. Such devices have been used on the front end of a tractor trailer chassis. Lock pins of such end locking arrangements are horizontally movable between the released and locked position and absorb the container forces which act upward and sideways.
Examples of vertical moveable container locking arrangements are shown in United Kingdom Patent No. 1,363,279, U.S. Pat. No. 2,427,603, U.S. Pat. No. 4,352,517 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,486,132. The United Kingdom 1,363,279 Patent discloses a twist lock which is used to locate and hold down containers on the bed of a vehicle. This twist lock comprises a head mounted on a spindle rotatable by a handle to locate the head in a position overlying a part of and securing a corner casting on the container. The head is aligned with an aperture and a housing so that the head with the spindle may be retracted within the housing to a retracted position. A register below the housing and rotatable by the spindle maintains alignment of the spindle assembly with the aperture during movement of the head. U.S. Pat. No. 2,427,603 discloses a toggle clamp for securing a demountable freight compartment to a transportation vehicle. The clamp consists of three movable members including a clamping jaw constructed with a pair of similar congruently arranged plates which are spaced by a filler piece having a threaded bore with an adjusting screw. A handle operated actuator is constructed of a single plate having its apex fitting between the lower outer ends of two plates and the handle extension which extends radially. A link constructed of two similar members are arranged on opposite sides of the actuator which provide a fulcrum about which the actuator turns when the handle is lifted to open the clamp.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,352,517 discloses a pin construction for locking the front end of a standard container on a conventional goose neck chassis to secure the container against movement relative to the chassis. The invention discloses a locking pin employing a rack and pinion activation to obtain an end line thrust including a gear rack, a handle including a spur gear quadrant activating the gear rack and a latch associated with the handle.
The problems encountered with devices of the type previously described were partially solved by the U.S. Pat. No. 4,486,132. In this device the gateway and mounting are permanently arranged on a mounting plate with a perpendicular orientation to the plane of movement of the operating handle with the mounting plate being located on the end of the guideway which faces the locked part of the lock bolt. While this device solved some of the problems which were present in the industry, the handle frequently was bent, thus becoming hard to move, causing operator bruising and safety hazards. Furthermore the forces directed on the pin and pin housing from containers placed thereon or forces exerted there against cause bending and shearing making the device useless.
The present invention concerns a device for the locking of containers for freight handling, securing the front end of the container to a chassis semi-trailer for highway and rail transport. The front locking pin assembly is welded or otherwise suitably attached to a chassis front bolster beam, and the penetrating pin or lockbolt is movable in a guideway approximately parallel with the longitudinal axis of the chassis. In the locked position, the penetrating pin protrudes into the lower corner casting of the container for freight handling, through an oblong hole. The shape of this oblong hole is specified by the International Standards Organization (I.S.O.) Specification Ref. No. ISO1161-1980 (E). The pin penetration is specified by the Association of American Railroads, Manual of Standards and Recommended Practices Section I, Specification M-943-80 and other organizations such as A.N.S.I.
Devices of the type have been long known and used especially on the front bolster beams of container chassis. The disadvantages of the prior art's locking arrangements such as those known in U.S. Pat. No. 4,352,517 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,486,132 are numerous.
First, the prior art locking devices require the fabrication of chassis front bolster beams having a substantial width, as measured in the vertical plane to provide encasement of their operating pin and handle within the vertical projection of the front bolster to prevent damage. For example, whereas the device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,486,132 requires a bolster as much as 8 inches wide to totally encase it, the present invention can be installed in a bolster 6 inches wide and still remain totally encased.
In addition, the prior art locking devices utilized operating handles which must be grasped by a hand held with the palm of the hand extended flat in the horizontal plane as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,486,132. Handles thus operated are not only awkward for the operator to grasp and manipulate, but also require the operator to actuate the handle in a confined space of encasement while simultaneously holding a latch open in order to rotate the handle. The present invention has the advantages of a handle which can be easily grasped in the vertical plane and operated.
The prior art locking devices also require the end of the bolster beam to have a substantially wide cut-out and removal of the front vertical face of the "U"-shaped bolster beams, in order to operate the locking device. The material coped out from the bolster beam substantially reduces its structural integrity and ability to resist torsional forces applied in service. Consequently, the bolster beams are frequently damaged in service, particularly about their ends. As an example, the device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,486,132 requires at least 15 inches of material to be coped out from the each end of a 96 inch wide bolster beam. The present invention provides an endplate which is installed in the vertical plane of the bolster beam and has the advantage of substantially increasing the strength of the bolster beam and its resistance to torsional bending and subsequent damage.
The prior art locking devices use bolts, nuts and washers to fasten their handle and latch, requiring the manufacturer of the chassis to punch or drill and align numerous access holes for the removal of these fasteners. The present invention has the advantage of using only one easily removable pin which requires only one access hole.
Prior art locking devices such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,486,132 require the manufacturer to dimensionally control their installation by centering the penetrating pin in the bolster beam, according to prescribed transverse centers across the overall width of the chassis bolster beam and a vertical height in relation to the top surface of the chassis gooseneck beam. The control of these dimensions and installation is not easily accomplished. The present invention provides an endplate to be secured to the end of the chassis bolster and has the advantages of making the fabrication of the bolster beam simpler and the maintenance of the dimensional tolerances for installation of the locking device more easily accomplished.
It should also be noted that prior art locking devices are installed in one continuous bolster beam section and are secured by welding and not easily replaced without flame-cutting and subsequent damage to the bolster beam. The present invention is releasably attached to the endplate and thus can be quickly and easily removed for maintenance, repair or replacement. This feature is most advantageous to the fleet operator of chassis in that it provides the ability to quickly return a damaged chassis to service and does not necessitate flame-cutting to replace a locking device.
Another problem is that prior art locking devices are attached to the bolster beam by welding and provide for only one overall width of chassis, most commonly 96 inches. The present invention is releasably attached and thus has the advantage of providing for the rapid and economical conversion of a chassis to some different overall width, as for example 96 inch wide converted to 102 inch wide.
A further problem is that prior art locking devices provided only one function: i.e., the locking of containers on chassis. The present invention is releasably attached and provides means to effectively reduce the overall width of the chassis, thus the chassis may be, among other possibilities, shipped inside the confines of containers of conventional (standard) widths, as for example a 96 inch wide chassis inside a 96 inch wide container. The endplates can be used, among other things, to secure the chassis in stacks for repositioning and to endframes for shipment as containerized freight.
The present invention has produced a locking mechanism which can be produced independently from a chassis and is removable so that locking mechanism is only operational when it is desired to be used and not at other times when the chassis is in transit or subject to collision or shearing forces. Thus the installation expense is drastically reduced because the locking assembly can be operational at the time it is needed without the necessity of carrying around total locking housings to be welded on to the chassis.